After a while, Xie Daguang walked back with a few tier-zero equipment items, his face livid with anger, and tossed the bank card casually onto the table.
"What? Did something go wrong?" Old Man Xie asked with a frown.
Xie Daguang slowly nodded, gritting his teeth as he said, "That idiot from the Muyun family actually cleared the nightmare-difficulty dungeon."
"What? Impossible! Mufeng's four attributes average only 2 points each, and even with equipment, it only reaches about 3 points. His Healing Spell is also the most basic skill. How could he possibly clear the nightmare dungeon on his very first try?
When I had my awakening, I unlocked a rare skill. Aside from my Spirit, which was a bit lower, my other three attributes all reached the maximum of 5 points. With a full set of equipment, my four attributes averaged 7 points. Even then, it took me five tries, and I only managed to pass on the fifth attempt through pure luck. How could a brainless piece of trash like him clear a nightmare dungeon on the first try?" Xie Dahaio shouted, jumping up in agitation.
Although he knew his older brother had no reason to joke about such a thing, he still refused to believe the news.
On the surface, he acted as Mufeng's good friend, but in reality, he looked down on Mufeng immensely, even thinking that Mufeng was inferior to an ordinary passerby.
Hearing now that Mufeng had effortlessly accomplished something that he had exhausted every ounce of effort to achieve, he instantly felt insulted. He was unwilling to believe that Mufeng—whom he had always looked down upon—could climb above him.
"Enough! Making such a fuss, what kind of behavior is that?" Old Man Xie scolded his younger son, then turned his gaze back to his eldest son and asked, "How did you respond?"
On Xie Daguang's gloomy face, a hint of complacent pride squeezed out as he slowly said, "Things have reached this point. Muyun's greatest weakness is about to be eliminated, and we can no longer afford to take our time. I have no choice but to take a desperate risk and put all my eggs in one basket."
"I don't know the extent of Muyun's strength, but anyone who receives an invitation from the Governor's Mansion must be stronger than you. How do you plan to stake everything on this single move?"
Old Man Xie asked with some concern, subtly pointing out the facts while trying his best not to hurt his eldest son's self-esteem.
His younger son, Xie Dahaio, was nothing more than a brute who would never achieve anything significant in his lifetime. But his eldest son, Xie Daguang, had shown good strategic intellect since childhood, and he pinned high hopes on him.
"Muyun's strength is naturally higher than mine, and probably by a lot. In the second year of high school, she was scouted and recruited directly by Imperial Capital University, whereas I only made it into Linjiang University after graduating from my third year. There is a gap of nearly two years between us.
Besides, after going to university and seeing the world, I realized that universities are not all created equal, teachers are different, and heaven-sent prodigies compared to ordinary elites are worlds apart. When you factor all of that in, it's not a gap that can be measured by a simple two years.
Right now is my only chance. If I miss it, I will only be able to look up at her for the rest of my life, so I want to take a gamble."
"Being able to see the gap and face it squarely counts for something. So, what do you plan to do?"
"Tomorrow is the closing ceremony for Number One High School, and they'll be holding a school team exhibition match. Second Brother, the first thing you do when you get to school tomorrow is invite Mufeng to join the school team, and drag him along to participate in the 4v4 team exhibition match.
Then, bribe the entire school team so that Mufeng is put on your team, and give separate instructions to the members of both competing teams regarding their tasks.
Once the match starts, have the other team focus on beating Mufeng. The three of you on Mufeng's team will put on a show of protecting him, while actually restricting his movements behind the scenes.
Matches between awakened professionals come with injury quotas, so you can go ahead and do it without worry. As long as you don't beat him to death, it's fine. It's best to relentlessly torture his limbs so that he keeps letting out miserable screams, without having to worry about accidentally going too far and killing him.
The head of student affairs at Number One High School is our man. Tomorrow, he will be in charge of the exhibition match arrangements and will cooperate with you.
As for me, I've already used the favor of lending out equipment to invite Muyun to come watch the match. Once you all start making your move, I'll take the opportunity to coerce her. Listen for my signal—don't stop until I tell you to stop."
After hearing this, Xie Dahaio's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Brilliant! This trick is so vicious, I love it!"
He then patted his chest in guarantee, saying, "No problem, Brother. Just leave it to me, you can rest easy."
After pondering for a moment, Old Man Xie said, "This plan sounds meticulous, but it actually has two flaws. First is Mufeng's strength and how he'll handle things. Your plan is built on the premise that Mufeng is a weakling, but the fact that he cleared a nightmare-difficulty dungeon proves he isn't as incompetent as he looks on the surface. There must be some hidden strengths you haven't discovered.
Second is Muyun's reaction. Will she step in to save Mufeng? Your plan assumes Muyun won't upend the chessboard. If she does flip the table, how will you respond?"
Xie Daguang paused for a moment before answering hesitantly, "I'm not worried about Mufeng's strength. Even if he advanced to an elite class and acquired two skills, the chances are high they're both related to healing, which won't bring about a massive change in his personal combat power. Besides, low attributes are a weakness he cannot overcome in a short time. With seven people targeting him alone, even with wings he couldn't fly away.
As for Muyun stepping in to save someone, I don't think she will. Any match between awakened professionals has to follow shared rules. In a team match like this, unless one side is completely defeated or facing mortal danger, an outsider interfering and disrupting the match is a violation of the rules.
As for conceding defeat, that's the ultimate mark of a coward, and one would never be able to hold their head high again. After all, in battles against alien races, there is no such thing as conceding.
As for whether she'll flip the table, I truly hadn't considered it in that much detail. From what I remember of her personality, she isn't one to casually smash the board. After all, besides Mufeng, she also has a mother and a younger sister to worry about, so she should have reservations.
Besides, this is the best method I could come up with. No matter what, I have to give it a try; otherwise, I won't be reconciled."
Old Man Xie remained noncommittal upon hearing this, only saying indifferently, "Since you aren't reconciled, then give it a try."
...
Following the memories in his mind, Mufeng returned to the old residential complex where his family lived.
Building 5, Unit 303.
Without even knocking, he pulled out his key and directly unlocked the security door. The first thing that came into view was a small living room, half of which was occupied by a dining table, serving as both a living and dining area.
The apartment was 75 square meters. The original layout of two bedrooms and one living room had been forcefully converted into three bedrooms and one living room, making it feel quite cramped.
Originally, one room belonged to his parents, one to Mufeng, and Muyun and Muxue squeezed into a bunk bed in another. Ever since Muxue went to Imperial Capital University, that room had been monopolized by Muyun. In the past two days, Muxue had been back, but she had been busy and hadn't stayed home.
Just as Mufeng closed the door and prepared to change his shoes, he heard movement from the room on the left. The chubby little girl, Muyun, came charging out with a fierce expression, looked right at him, and shouted loudly:
"Mufeng, you borrowed 20 yuan from me—when are you going to pay me back?"
She was in her third year of middle school, and her voice still had a somewhat shrill edge to it.
"When did I ever owe you 20 yuan?" Mufeng asked with a blank expression, completely devoid of any memory of this debt. He wasn't even sure if the original Mufeng had actually borrowed the money or not.
"Stop playing dumb with me! Two days ago, you were going to the internet cafe to chat with online friends, and since you'd made plans with them and didn't want to lose face, you borrowed 20 yuan from me as an emergency. Don't even think about backing out of it now, or I'll tell Mom that you go to internet cafes to chat with shady women!"
Mufeng was even more bewildered. He had zero memories of going to an internet cafe!